The first findings of an evaluation of California's welfare-to-work program, Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN), related to its impact on employment, earnings, and welfare payments. The impact results came from a study of applicants for and recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in six counties and were limited to the first year after people entered GAIN. Information was collected about patterns of participation and implementation strategies used by local welfare departments. The research sample of 33,000 individuals included single heads of households (AFDC-FGs) and heads of two-parent households (AFDC-Us). Overall participation rates were generally as high or higher than levels reported in a 1989 study and within the range reported in studies of other mandatory welfare-to-work initiatives. The GAIN treatment was not uniform throughout California but was an intervention shaped by resource allocation and other choices made by county administrators. No single approach emerged as a clearly superior way to yield high participation rates. For AFDC-FG registrants, GAIN yielded increased earnings and corresponding reductions in AFDC payments in four counties. For AFDC-U registrants, GAIN increased earnings in four counties, although impacts were not statistically significant in one county; AFDC reductions were also found in those four counties. (The report includes an executive summary, 48 tables, and 17 figures. Appendixes contain 49 pages of supplemental tables, 16 references, and a list of related reports. ) (YLB)